WEBVTT - Digital Supply Chains Know Where Your Lettuce Comes From

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<v Speaker 1>Hi, everyone. We've hit a small milestone here at Switched

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<v Speaker 1>on fifty episodes. It continues to be our goal to

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<v Speaker 1>bring you smart but accessible insights from being Anaist on

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<v Speaker 1>a range of topics relating to the transition to a

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<v Speaker 1>low carbon future. Hopefully at this point you've heard something

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<v Speaker 1>new from the show or a new angle on something

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<v Speaker 1>We'd love to hear from you, and of course thanks

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<v Speaker 1>for listening. Okay, onto the show. Today, we're going to

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<v Speaker 1>talk about supply chains. To keep up the regulations around

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<v Speaker 1>ethically source products, greenhouse gas emissions, products, safety and consumers

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<v Speaker 1>who want to understand more about the things they buy,

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<v Speaker 1>companies need a lot more visibility on their supply chains.

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<v Speaker 1>This weekend the show, we've got Curtie fasta digital industry

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<v Speaker 1>analysts for BENF She'll tell us about new developments and

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<v Speaker 1>track and trace and how implementing advanced technologies and systems

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<v Speaker 1>to more deeply understand their supply chain can make a

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<v Speaker 1>company's operations safer, more efficient, and competitive. Our discussion is

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<v Speaker 1>based on report titled track and Trace Digitalizing Supply Chains

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<v Speaker 1>being if. Users can get this report on benif dot com,

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<v Speaker 1>the benof mobile app, and the Bloomberg terminal. Oh and

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<v Speaker 1>near the end of the show, Courage mentioned another report

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<v Speaker 1>she's working on. It's called ben IF National Industrial Digitalization Ranking.

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<v Speaker 1>Well that's out now you can go read that too.

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<v Speaker 1>As a reminder of BENO does not provide investment or

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<v Speaker 1>strategy advice, and you can hear the full disclaimer at

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<v Speaker 1>the end of the show. Him Mark Taylor here with

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<v Speaker 1>Danna Perkins, and you're listening to switch On. Hi, care tee,

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<v Speaker 1>Thank you for joining Mark and I today. Thanks for

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<v Speaker 1>having me on the show. So we're here today to

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<v Speaker 1>talk about track and trace. And I must admit the

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<v Speaker 1>first time that I heard that phrase was in response

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<v Speaker 1>to actually tracking of people in COVID, But there is

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<v Speaker 1>a much bigger application at the industry level. So I

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<v Speaker 1>want to understand today why did you begin writing a

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<v Speaker 1>research note about track and trace technology. The idea behind

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<v Speaker 1>track and trace is really to help companies gain full

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<v Speaker 1>transparency and visibility of the goods that they're buying and

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<v Speaker 1>selling within their supply chains. Track and tracing products isn't

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<v Speaker 1>necessarily a new thing. Supermarkets retailers have been using bar codes,

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<v Speaker 1>r f I d s to track their products for decades.

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<v Speaker 1>But the reason why we're writing about this now is

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<v Speaker 1>because we've found that companies just don't know enough about

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<v Speaker 1>the products that they're buying and selling to satisfying new

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<v Speaker 1>regulations around safety and quality of goods, or even just

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<v Speaker 1>meet customer demands for more sustainable, ethically sourced goods. And

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<v Speaker 1>so we recognize this issue and we're trying to help

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<v Speaker 1>companies get ahead of it and really think a bit

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<v Speaker 1>more about tracking and trace. So, Curtie, it seems that companies,

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<v Speaker 1>when consumers and regulators are pushing for this track and

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<v Speaker 1>trace in the products, but it seems that you know,

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<v Speaker 1>when companies are asked where their products are coming from

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<v Speaker 1>or where their supplies are coming from, it seems to

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<v Speaker 1>be a kind of a generalized shrub. Is that the case,

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<v Speaker 1>and if companies want to start to get a handle

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<v Speaker 1>on it, what are the options available to them. So

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<v Speaker 1>what we're finding is just to meet these new regulations

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<v Speaker 1>and these new customer demands, you know a shift towards

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<v Speaker 1>organic sustainable products. You're right, customers don't often know enough

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<v Speaker 1>about where their products are coming from, how they were

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<v Speaker 1>mind the components used to make these products. But there

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<v Speaker 1>are solutions in place and technologies. Some of them have

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<v Speaker 1>been used for years, so bar codes, for example, they're

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<v Speaker 1>often used on batch levels on food products, so supermarkets

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<v Speaker 1>commonly use them, and you know, they provide a basic

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<v Speaker 1>level of identification of goods. And as we try and

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<v Speaker 1>collect more detailed information, r f I D tags are

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<v Speaker 1>being used, often in combination with sensors to track more

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<v Speaker 1>information to things like location as well as temperature, shock

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<v Speaker 1>tilt of goods. And this information is really useful for

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<v Speaker 1>things like high value assets such as let's say wind

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<v Speaker 1>turbines or machinery that are being transported long distances. And

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<v Speaker 1>then customers can actually go even further and collect more

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<v Speaker 1>data if they track end to end across their supply chain.

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<v Speaker 1>And more recently we've seen examples of blockchain being used

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<v Speaker 1>so like a Ledger based system to really track this

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<v Speaker 1>data and habit on a trusted, reliable platform and then

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<v Speaker 1>it can then be shared amongst their other stakeholders within

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<v Speaker 1>their supply chain. So there's a kind of a range

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<v Speaker 1>of technologies out there that customers can use to use

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<v Speaker 1>track and trace. Which industries employ this technology the most

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<v Speaker 1>right now? Initially because of government regulation, it was the

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<v Speaker 1>pharmaceutical sector that really drove the uptake of things like barcodes,

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<v Speaker 1>r F I D serialization on products. But if we

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<v Speaker 1>think about more of our BNF relevant sectors, so the

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<v Speaker 1>mining industry is a good example. So asset provenance STATA

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<v Speaker 1>is understanding where a product comes from is really crucial.

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<v Speaker 1>Often metals, precious jams, extremely valuable materials originate from these

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<v Speaker 1>countries that face challenges when it comes to responsible labor,

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<v Speaker 1>health and safety, and so you know, supply chain transparency

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<v Speaker 1>helps companies make sure that the goods that they're using,

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<v Speaker 1>the raw materials they're using are indeed ethical and they

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<v Speaker 1>align with the standards that the company wants to abide by.

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<v Speaker 1>So recently we've seen automakers like BMW, Volkswagen, Ford but

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<v Speaker 1>in place ethically sourcing initiatives for cobalt, which is used

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<v Speaker 1>in e V batteries. And I think that's like a

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<v Speaker 1>really interesting example given that it's the companies themselves that

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<v Speaker 1>are trying to like build these platforms and find solutions

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<v Speaker 1>to this problem. We've talked about where products come from,

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<v Speaker 1>but are there other applications of track and trace? I

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<v Speaker 1>guess I mean like real time tracking. Yeah, so when

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<v Speaker 1>it comes to real time tracking, track and trace generally

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<v Speaker 1>go hand in hand. The tracking element is also really

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<v Speaker 1>portant and often you know, barcodes, sensors, r f I

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<v Speaker 1>d s do this really well for logistics companies, manufacturers, retailers,

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<v Speaker 1>and it's just like when you buy something online, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>you can track your parcel into it reaches your doorstep.

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<v Speaker 1>In the same way, companies are being encouraged to share

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<v Speaker 1>their logistics information for their stakeholders to understand where their

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<v Speaker 1>inventories are in their supply chain, and this has been

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<v Speaker 1>really helpful for companies to manage their inventories, cut their

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<v Speaker 1>operational costs, and eventually kind of make their supply chain

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<v Speaker 1>so efficient that it becomes a competitive advantage for their business.

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<v Speaker 1>So yeah, tracking is equally as important as understanding the

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<v Speaker 1>assets provenance of the tracing Part two security. When we

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<v Speaker 1>talk about the various different forms of track and trace

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<v Speaker 1>technology that's available out there, how reliable is track and

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<v Speaker 1>trace technology? When I think about it. I really think

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<v Speaker 1>about things that you know, we receive as end consumers,

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<v Speaker 1>and the first one comes to mind, or something like

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<v Speaker 1>a diamond engagement ring, where it's more than likely very

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<v Speaker 1>important to the end consumer that they know that it

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<v Speaker 1>is conflict free and more importantly, you know, did not

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<v Speaker 1>involve any human suffering. That said, there have been various

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<v Speaker 1>journalists who have uncovered that really what you're end up

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<v Speaker 1>getting at the end of the line, that's not necessarily

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<v Speaker 1>the case. And I know that this technology isn't always

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<v Speaker 1>applied to individuals like ourselves, and it's not designed necessarily

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<v Speaker 1>to give the end consumer visibility, and it's more for

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<v Speaker 1>companies to have visibility regarding their supply chains. But how

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<v Speaker 1>reliable are track and trace technology for us? That's a

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<v Speaker 1>great question. And immediately the technology that comes to mind

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<v Speaker 1>is blockchain. So blockchain has attracted a lot of attention

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<v Speaker 1>as the technology for end to end track and trace,

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<v Speaker 1>and just to take a step back, what it is

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<v Speaker 1>is it's a type of data system that maintains records

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<v Speaker 1>of data to enable multiple stakeholders to really access the

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<v Speaker 1>same information confidentially. And it's come up is one of

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<v Speaker 1>the most reliable, secure platforms of track and trace, because

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<v Speaker 1>it's encrypted and it's tamper proof, and any attempts to

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<v Speaker 1>change information on a blockchain would be flagged and inspected.

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<v Speaker 1>And so in the case of you know, diamonds or

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<v Speaker 1>precious metals, as you mentioned, it has been commonly used,

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<v Speaker 1>and I think in mining as well, we're likely to

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<v Speaker 1>see it used more. But of course there is this

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<v Speaker 1>element of skepticism I guess with blockchain, given that good

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<v Speaker 1>data practices might not always be in place, particularly upstream

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<v Speaker 1>in the supply chain. Companies might not necessarily upload information immediately,

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<v Speaker 1>or it might not be automatically uploaded, which is ideal,

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<v Speaker 1>is the ideal way that blockchain data should be tracked, right,

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<v Speaker 1>because if people have the ability to put in information themselves,

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<v Speaker 1>there's chances that there's potential fraud or information that's uploaded

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<v Speaker 1>that isn't necessarily true. And so a company that we

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<v Speaker 1>spoke to called Treum has a platform that can be

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<v Speaker 1>configured in a way to analyze data and detect potential

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<v Speaker 1>fraud and counterfeit products, and and so there are there

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<v Speaker 1>are ways of overcoming this challenge, but like you say,

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<v Speaker 1>it's a relatively new technology. It's yet to mature, and

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<v Speaker 1>there is a bit of skepticism around how it's being used.

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<v Speaker 1>So Curtius, seems like you're saying that it's good data in,

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<v Speaker 1>good data out and vice versa. Right, And this, at

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<v Speaker 1>least this one startup is trying to be a police

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<v Speaker 1>of that. Is there really just a risk of using

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<v Speaker 1>blockchain that people just won't upload the data and it

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<v Speaker 1>won't get up taken that way, Yeah, so upstream in

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<v Speaker 1>the supply chain, particularly where things are mined in agriculture

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<v Speaker 1>as well. These these countries are not necessarily don't necessarily

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<v Speaker 1>have high levels of connectivity Internet access to you know,

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<v Speaker 1>automatically have tracking tags to submit data onto a blockchain,

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<v Speaker 1>so you'd want it to be done immediately, right right, right,

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<v Speaker 1>And so where tracking tags are used, you know, it's

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<v Speaker 1>a lot more reliable and that can consider you know,

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<v Speaker 1>data that's been captured to be true and trustworthy. Assuming

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<v Speaker 1>that there are a lot of benefits to the companies

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<v Speaker 1>that participate in track and trace, what are the barriers

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<v Speaker 1>right now to this being more widely spread In terms

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<v Speaker 1>of the challenges for track and trace, there are a

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<v Speaker 1>number of them, and one of the main ones is

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<v Speaker 1>into operability. So a lot of times when companies digitalize

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<v Speaker 1>their supply chain, they often go with this system without

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<v Speaker 1>really collaborating with their stakeholders and their partners, And what

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<v Speaker 1>kind of ended up with is multiple companies using lots

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<v Speaker 1>of different systems, and it turns out that like logistics,

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<v Speaker 1>companies end up having multiple platforms that they then need

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<v Speaker 1>to configure with to update data and track and trace

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<v Speaker 1>the collectrack and trace information. So this is really quite

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<v Speaker 1>a challenge. And more recently, what we've seen is that

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<v Speaker 1>blockchain appears to be a potential solution to this give

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<v Speaker 1>and that it offers a single trustworthy database where all

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<v Speaker 1>supply chain stakeholders can update upload their data. So a

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<v Speaker 1>likely solution to that could be blockchain. If people upload

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<v Speaker 1>their data, right, that's kind of the robin all of it. Yeah, yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>so if if companies are willing to share their data,

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<v Speaker 1>and so that's the next kind of challenge that I

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<v Speaker 1>wanted to talk about is that data sharing and data

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<v Speaker 1>privacy is another thing. In order for track and trace

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<v Speaker 1>to really work, stakeholders need to work together and collaborate

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<v Speaker 1>in share data. But there is this general reluctance among

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<v Speaker 1>companies to share data with their peers and partners despite

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<v Speaker 1>the potential benefits of you know, efficiencies, gains, operational improvements,

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<v Speaker 1>costs that they would say, So, even where data is anonymized,

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<v Speaker 1>there's I guess a risk that peers or competitors may

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<v Speaker 1>deduce any operating advantages or strategies that the company has

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<v Speaker 1>built from that data. And so that creates this general

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<v Speaker 1>reluctance to share data. And then where they do share data,

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<v Speaker 1>data primacy is a real challenge, so you know, companies,

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<v Speaker 1>particularly where data protection laws and regulations might differ across countries,

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<v Speaker 1>companies really need to be on track of that and

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<v Speaker 1>make sure that they know what where they stand with that.

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<v Speaker 1>And that adds another layer of complexity as well. So

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<v Speaker 1>if I am a company interested in getting a handle

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<v Speaker 1>on this or getting into this, like it seems kind

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<v Speaker 1>of daunting, right where should I start? I mean, we

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<v Speaker 1>did mention all the different technologies available, but how would

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<v Speaker 1>I go about being a responsible company in this uh,

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<v Speaker 1>in this space Because there's so much cooperation required, right, Like,

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<v Speaker 1>so many companies have to be involved in the same

0:12:40.840 --> 0:12:43.000
<v Speaker 1>chain in order for it to work, right, it sounds

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<v Speaker 1>like it's kind of almost a nonstarter. Like maybe that's

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<v Speaker 1>why people haven't been doing it as much as because

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<v Speaker 1>it just sounds really hard to get going. I think

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<v Speaker 1>when companies approach track and trace, there really needs to

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<v Speaker 1>be a driving force for them to want to collect

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<v Speaker 1>more information, have this visibility and transparency within their supply chain.

0:13:02.200 --> 0:13:06.720
<v Speaker 1>And an example in the agricultural sector is where safety

0:13:06.880 --> 0:13:11.080
<v Speaker 1>is really a key priority and you know, food traceability,

0:13:11.200 --> 0:13:15.640
<v Speaker 1>being able to trace back batches of certain products and

0:13:15.720 --> 0:13:19.720
<v Speaker 1>where they were were farmed really helps in cases where

0:13:19.760 --> 0:13:23.520
<v Speaker 1>there's eco light outbreaks or food born illnesses and then

0:13:23.679 --> 0:13:27.360
<v Speaker 1>results and recalls. So an example is with Walmart who

0:13:27.440 --> 0:13:30.760
<v Speaker 1>put in place a food traceability initiative, and what they

0:13:30.800 --> 0:13:35.360
<v Speaker 1>did was they required all of their suppliers of leafy

0:13:35.400 --> 0:13:41.040
<v Speaker 1>greens to join this blockchain based traceability system. And given

0:13:41.040 --> 0:13:44.559
<v Speaker 1>that they are such a large organization, they have the

0:13:44.640 --> 0:13:48.280
<v Speaker 1>power to really encourage their suppliers to get on board

0:13:48.280 --> 0:13:51.600
<v Speaker 1>and start tracking and tracing where their products are coming from.

0:13:51.640 --> 0:13:54.920
<v Speaker 1>They enabled this system to work and has actually been

0:13:54.960 --> 0:13:56.840
<v Speaker 1>in place for a couple of years now. So I

0:13:56.840 --> 0:14:00.400
<v Speaker 1>think that's one way in which in order to get arted.

0:14:00.760 --> 0:14:03.920
<v Speaker 1>If there's this driving force and you know there's a

0:14:03.920 --> 0:14:07.599
<v Speaker 1>stakeholder within your supply chain that's really pushing this to

0:14:07.840 --> 0:14:12.840
<v Speaker 1>kind of happen. Then it's it's certainly doable. Now. One

0:14:12.840 --> 0:14:16.240
<v Speaker 1>thing that Walmart was able to do was actually make

0:14:16.280 --> 0:14:19.800
<v Speaker 1>sure that the adoption costs that farmers were we're having

0:14:19.800 --> 0:14:21.880
<v Speaker 1>to pay to kind of get on board with the

0:14:21.920 --> 0:14:25.800
<v Speaker 1>blotchain based system and were kept quite low and they

0:14:25.840 --> 0:14:28.520
<v Speaker 1>didn't really incur much costs in order to do this.

0:14:28.600 --> 0:14:31.120
<v Speaker 1>So I think in that sense it kind of helped

0:14:31.560 --> 0:14:34.360
<v Speaker 1>suppliers of leafy greens to kind of get on board.

0:14:34.360 --> 0:14:36.600
<v Speaker 1>But otherwise it is it is a challenge, and yet

0:14:36.640 --> 0:14:38.960
<v Speaker 1>there really needs to be this driving force or some

0:14:39.000 --> 0:14:42.960
<v Speaker 1>sort of motivation that companies need to start tracking and tracing.

0:14:43.160 --> 0:14:46.800
<v Speaker 1>And you're talking about where people really want and need

0:14:46.920 --> 0:14:49.600
<v Speaker 1>this implementation to come from. So one that immediately comes

0:14:49.640 --> 0:14:53.320
<v Speaker 1>to mind is the necessity around well, so the potential

0:14:53.360 --> 0:14:55.880
<v Speaker 1>necessity around Scope three emissions. And that's really where my

0:14:56.000 --> 0:14:59.120
<v Speaker 1>question lies is how critical is it to have this

0:14:59.200 --> 0:15:01.920
<v Speaker 1>track and trace to technology in place across the entire

0:15:01.960 --> 0:15:05.960
<v Speaker 1>supply chain of particular industries. As more companies are coming

0:15:06.400 --> 0:15:08.360
<v Speaker 1>to the table saying that they are going to have,

0:15:08.480 --> 0:15:12.120
<v Speaker 1>you know, potentially net zero Scope three emissions targets. And

0:15:12.160 --> 0:15:14.480
<v Speaker 1>by scope three emissions, I mean the emissions that will

0:15:14.480 --> 0:15:18.520
<v Speaker 1>be associated with all of your in this case and

0:15:18.600 --> 0:15:22.040
<v Speaker 1>consumers and all of the suppliers that are actually selling

0:15:22.040 --> 0:15:24.960
<v Speaker 1>items to you. Yeah, So, like you said, scope through

0:15:24.960 --> 0:15:29.840
<v Speaker 1>emissions refers to understanding our stakeholders emissions and making sure

0:15:29.880 --> 0:15:33.000
<v Speaker 1>that they're thinking about reducing their emissions as well. And

0:15:33.040 --> 0:15:36.680
<v Speaker 1>so the track and trace definitely helps in this area too.

0:15:37.160 --> 0:15:41.000
<v Speaker 1>Given that track and trace gives visibility, it gives transparency,

0:15:41.200 --> 0:15:44.720
<v Speaker 1>It allows customers just to understand where their products are

0:15:44.720 --> 0:15:47.360
<v Speaker 1>coming from. So you know, in relation to this, we've

0:15:47.360 --> 0:15:50.920
<v Speaker 1>seen oil and gas companies recently announced a number of

0:15:51.000 --> 0:15:55.680
<v Speaker 1>ambitious targets around corbon reduction, so shall Hotel, BP in

0:15:55.680 --> 0:15:58.280
<v Speaker 1>the last six months have all made these sort of targets.

0:15:58.280 --> 0:16:01.000
<v Speaker 1>And while they are interested in track and trace, I

0:16:01.040 --> 0:16:04.560
<v Speaker 1>think they are also thinking about their supply chains. So

0:16:04.760 --> 0:16:07.200
<v Speaker 1>add Nock was an example that we looked at in

0:16:07.200 --> 0:16:12.520
<v Speaker 1>our research note who basically implemented a blockchain based system

0:16:12.560 --> 0:16:15.440
<v Speaker 1>just to manage the data that they were collecting on

0:16:15.480 --> 0:16:18.880
<v Speaker 1>their individual business units. And I think that was really

0:16:18.920 --> 0:16:21.480
<v Speaker 1>successful for them, and I think in this way, by

0:16:21.520 --> 0:16:25.320
<v Speaker 1>collecting data, they're also conscious of carbon emissions and other

0:16:25.400 --> 0:16:29.320
<v Speaker 1>sort of E s G related metrics. Thinking about emissions

0:16:29.600 --> 0:16:34.760
<v Speaker 1>and an asset providence and consumer preferences and regulation, Which

0:16:34.760 --> 0:16:36.600
<v Speaker 1>do you think is going to be the biggest driver?

0:16:36.880 --> 0:16:41.040
<v Speaker 1>I really lashed onto big companies being the instigators or

0:16:41.120 --> 0:16:44.200
<v Speaker 1>pushers or drivers for this track and trace movement, But

0:16:44.280 --> 0:16:46.160
<v Speaker 1>what reason do you think will be their biggest one

0:16:46.200 --> 0:16:48.920
<v Speaker 1>for for doing it? Again? It comes back to the

0:16:49.000 --> 0:16:53.200
<v Speaker 1>motivations and the driving forces that companies have to to

0:16:53.640 --> 0:16:58.200
<v Speaker 1>really adopt track and trace. I think consumers demanding greater

0:16:58.240 --> 0:17:02.480
<v Speaker 1>transparency is probably the one that particularly for consumer goods

0:17:03.000 --> 0:17:07.360
<v Speaker 1>in agriculture, food, even healthcare, we're going to see companies

0:17:07.400 --> 0:17:11.560
<v Speaker 1>adopted because because of consumers, there's been a growing proportion

0:17:11.640 --> 0:17:16.200
<v Speaker 1>of millennials, particularly who are a little bit skeptical when

0:17:16.640 --> 0:17:20.520
<v Speaker 1>products are sourced as ethical, organic, and what we're familiar

0:17:20.560 --> 0:17:23.879
<v Speaker 1>with is like fair trade and sort of certifications that

0:17:24.160 --> 0:17:26.360
<v Speaker 1>might have been used in the past no longer kind

0:17:26.400 --> 0:17:29.480
<v Speaker 1>of being as important, and customers want to be able

0:17:29.520 --> 0:17:35.200
<v Speaker 1>to actually find out exactly where there products are sourced from.

0:17:35.560 --> 0:17:38.800
<v Speaker 1>So I think consumers shifting in this way would would

0:17:38.840 --> 0:17:41.879
<v Speaker 1>actually be a driving force. At the same time, you know,

0:17:42.359 --> 0:17:46.160
<v Speaker 1>there is regulations and governments actually thinking about being able

0:17:46.200 --> 0:17:49.680
<v Speaker 1>to understand more about products as well. So an example

0:17:49.800 --> 0:17:52.560
<v Speaker 1>actually is in Russia. The government there have put in

0:17:52.600 --> 0:17:57.040
<v Speaker 1>place a system where they actually want to understand more

0:17:57.080 --> 0:18:02.560
<v Speaker 1>about products across all sectors, including dairy, including footwear and apparel,

0:18:02.680 --> 0:18:06.440
<v Speaker 1>including bicycle tires. So they want to implement a track

0:18:06.480 --> 0:18:10.119
<v Speaker 1>and trace system across all these sectors, and they're really

0:18:10.119 --> 0:18:13.600
<v Speaker 1>pushing companies to do that. Similarly, in the EU, actually

0:18:13.960 --> 0:18:17.880
<v Speaker 1>they announced a green deal earlier this year, and as

0:18:17.920 --> 0:18:21.080
<v Speaker 1>part of that there was a mention around circular economy

0:18:21.119 --> 0:18:26.840
<v Speaker 1>or sustainability initiatives to have potential product passports attached to

0:18:27.680 --> 0:18:31.120
<v Speaker 1>certain types of goods like textiles, electronics, and this would

0:18:31.160 --> 0:18:35.520
<v Speaker 1>allow companies to track things like emissions, track their carbon footprints,

0:18:35.800 --> 0:18:39.359
<v Speaker 1>understand the components that are being used, maybe even push

0:18:39.440 --> 0:18:42.960
<v Speaker 1>industries to be a bit more cop conscious of the

0:18:43.040 --> 0:18:47.200
<v Speaker 1>materials that they're using, given that now it's actually accountable

0:18:47.560 --> 0:18:49.920
<v Speaker 1>through the track and trace data. So I think there's

0:18:49.920 --> 0:18:52.160
<v Speaker 1>a number of driving forces there, and those are two

0:18:52.200 --> 0:18:55.320
<v Speaker 1>which I think will be probably the most impactful. I

0:18:55.359 --> 0:18:58.560
<v Speaker 1>started the podcast talking about how the first time I

0:18:58.600 --> 0:19:01.480
<v Speaker 1>heard about track and trace, as in regard to COVID,

0:19:01.560 --> 0:19:05.040
<v Speaker 1>and there's another element that is actually extremely relevant right now.

0:19:05.640 --> 0:19:09.439
<v Speaker 1>One of the things that we noticed when people first

0:19:09.520 --> 0:19:13.960
<v Speaker 1>originally started to go into more restrictive lockdown measures was

0:19:14.000 --> 0:19:16.760
<v Speaker 1>that supply chains started to break down. And there's some

0:19:16.840 --> 0:19:21.439
<v Speaker 1>conversation right now around relocalization of supply chains. How critical

0:19:21.560 --> 0:19:25.000
<v Speaker 1>is track and trace to supply chains in terms of

0:19:25.040 --> 0:19:29.000
<v Speaker 1>the localization or globalization and how it interplaces with kind

0:19:29.040 --> 0:19:32.160
<v Speaker 1>of both of those ways of doing business. There's been

0:19:32.200 --> 0:19:36.679
<v Speaker 1>this broadest speculation among companies who might start thinking about

0:19:36.760 --> 0:19:41.080
<v Speaker 1>reassuring their supply chain. Personally, I think that it's a

0:19:41.080 --> 0:19:44.480
<v Speaker 1>lot easier said than done. In reality, on showing a

0:19:44.520 --> 0:19:48.440
<v Speaker 1>supply chain, particularly for a large multinational company, would be

0:19:48.520 --> 0:19:52.879
<v Speaker 1>incredibly complicated and create cost and efficiencies as well. I

0:19:52.920 --> 0:19:55.480
<v Speaker 1>think if it made economic sense to do so, then

0:19:55.520 --> 0:19:58.720
<v Speaker 1>it's arguable that companies would have probably done that already.

0:19:59.280 --> 0:20:02.520
<v Speaker 1>It wouldn't have take a pandemic to actually realize that

0:20:02.520 --> 0:20:05.360
<v Speaker 1>that's that's the case. I mean, I think although there

0:20:05.440 --> 0:20:08.760
<v Speaker 1>is this kind of conversation around it, I'm not sure

0:20:09.040 --> 0:20:13.359
<v Speaker 1>companies will really think about it seriously. However, this is

0:20:13.359 --> 0:20:15.399
<v Speaker 1>where I think track and trace can really make a

0:20:15.440 --> 0:20:19.119
<v Speaker 1>big impact because it's a smart way for companies to

0:20:19.240 --> 0:20:23.080
<v Speaker 1>gain the control and visibility that they need. And actually

0:20:23.080 --> 0:20:26.040
<v Speaker 1>it's probably a lot easier to implement just by using

0:20:26.280 --> 0:20:29.400
<v Speaker 1>technologies instead of moving all of your relationships and your

0:20:29.480 --> 0:20:33.639
<v Speaker 1>complex network of suppliers around. So this links actually to

0:20:34.240 --> 0:20:36.960
<v Speaker 1>a research note that I'm currently working on, which is

0:20:36.960 --> 0:20:40.359
<v Speaker 1>looking at digital policies and initiatives that countries are announcing

0:20:40.920 --> 0:20:45.120
<v Speaker 1>for a ranking that we put together of national digital strategies,

0:20:45.800 --> 0:20:49.920
<v Speaker 1>and some countries like France, for example, have also started

0:20:49.960 --> 0:20:55.320
<v Speaker 1>thinking about bringing manufacturing facilities and research projects around, particularly

0:20:55.359 --> 0:20:59.879
<v Speaker 1>around healthcare pharmaceuticals, closer to home. So while companies are

0:20:59.840 --> 0:21:02.879
<v Speaker 1>thinking about this, I think governments are also thinking about

0:21:03.200 --> 0:21:08.000
<v Speaker 1>reassuring supply chains, and so it is an interesting conversation topic. Yeah,

0:21:08.040 --> 0:21:10.800
<v Speaker 1>we're likely to see where that goes. I realized that

0:21:10.880 --> 0:21:14.800
<v Speaker 1>this probably sounds conflicting because we've got governments on one

0:21:14.840 --> 0:21:18.280
<v Speaker 1>side thinking about it and then potentially companies talking about it.

0:21:18.320 --> 0:21:21.240
<v Speaker 1>But it's not looking likely to happen. In my opinion,

0:21:21.320 --> 0:21:25.639
<v Speaker 1>I think it makes economic sense to have geographically dispersed

0:21:25.680 --> 0:21:28.520
<v Speaker 1>supply chain networks, and I think it will probably stay

0:21:28.560 --> 0:21:32.200
<v Speaker 1>that way for a while despite COVID and the potential

0:21:32.520 --> 0:21:35.280
<v Speaker 1>issues around supply chains that we've seen, and track and

0:21:35.280 --> 0:21:38.600
<v Speaker 1>trace as a critical part of larger supply chains that

0:21:38.640 --> 0:21:42.119
<v Speaker 1>are more global. Correct exactly, Yes, well, CERTI thank you

0:21:42.240 --> 0:21:44.880
<v Speaker 1>so much for joining us today. Thank you for having me.

0:21:52.760 --> 0:21:55.359
<v Speaker 1>Today's episode of Switch John was edited by Rex Warner

0:21:55.520 --> 0:21:58.439
<v Speaker 1>of Great Stoke Media. Bloomberginia is a service provided by

0:21:58.440 --> 0:22:01.000
<v Speaker 1>Bloomberg Finance LP. And it's a bit is. This recording

0:22:01.040 --> 0:22:03.360
<v Speaker 1>does not constitute, nor it should it be construed as

0:22:03.440 --> 0:22:07.320
<v Speaker 1>investment advice, investment recommendations, or a recommendation as to an

0:22:07.320 --> 0:22:10.360
<v Speaker 1>investment or other strategy Bloomberg. Any should not be considered

0:22:10.400 --> 0:22:13.360
<v Speaker 1>as information sufficient upon which to base an investment decision.

0:22:13.520 --> 0:22:16.920
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0:22:17.000 --> 0:22:20.240
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0:22:20.280 --> 0:22:23.240
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0:22:23.280 --> 0:22:36.359
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